Feeler mechanism for looms



PL BOISVERT.

FEELER MECHANISM FOR LOOMS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 19, I9I'9;A

Patented Dee. 14, 1920.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PHILIPPE BOISVERT, 0F LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO DRAPER CORPORA- TION, 0F I-IOPEDALE, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

FEELER IJIECHA .Application filed September T 0 all 'whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, PHILIPPE BoisvER'r, a subject of the King of Great Britain, and residing at Lowell, county of Middlesex, and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Feeler Mechanisms for Looms, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like characters on the drawings representing like parts.

This invention relates to feeler mechanisms for looms, and is more particularly directed to improvements in the feeler tip or engaging portion of the feeler member.

Owing to the constantly recurring impact of the filling in the shuttle against the tip or engaging end portion of the feeler member, in that class of looms known as feeler looms, much injury is sometimes done the filling, and one of the objects of the present invention is to overcome this objection and avoid injury to the filling even though it be of fine quality and, at the same time, present a feeler tip which will effectively indicate the presence or absence of filling in the shuttle.

It has been proposed heretofore to provide a feeler tip or filling engaging end for the feeler member by mounting felt on the end portion of the feeler member, but under the constant impact of the surface within the shuttle on each detecting beat, the felt becomes consolidated to such an extent that after a time it presents a substantially unyielding impact surface. In the present invention the feeler member'is provided with a feeler tip formed of bristles or brushlike surface which receives directly upon it the impact of the surface within the shuttle on each detecting beat, and yields to prevent injury to the filling and under thel frontward push serves to move the feeler member frontwardly. The bristles which form the tip or engaging end portion of the feeler member maybe secured to the feeler member in various relations thereto, but in practice it has been found that by mounting the bristles or brush-like surface upon the: feeler member in a direction inclined to the longitudinal axis of the shuttle, that the bristles readily bend under the impact of the surface within the shuttle, and when the pressure of the surface within the shuttle Specification of Letters Patent.

NISM EGR LOOIVIS.

Patented Dec. 14, 1920.

19, 1919. serial No. 324,943.

is removed on the backward movement of the lay, the bristles at once regain their normal position. rlhe consequence is that the bristles maintain their yielding` qualitv throughout substantially the life of the feeler and insure a yielding impact, surface to the feeler member which has no injurious effect upon the filling in the shuttle.

In the drawings;

Figure l is a perspective view of the feeler .side portion of a leom showing the present invention associated therewith, some of the parts being broken away;

Fig. 2 is a detached and enlarged plan view of the rear end portion of the feeler member and the bristlc-like'tip;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to that of Fig. 2 showing the action of the bristles on the detecting beat of the lay.

In the following description and accompanying drawings, the feeler member and associated mechanism, whereby filling replenishment is effected, when the filling in the active shuttle has become substantially exhausted, are indicated as of the wellknown Draper type, such, for instance, as shown and described in the patent to lVood t Northrop No. 789,471, dated May 9, 1905, but it is to be understood that the invention may be employed advantageously with other forms of feeler member, either of the aneasuring or side swipe type. The loom frame l in the present instance has the bearings 2 secured thereto, one at each side of the loom in which is mounted the usual transverse rock shaft 3 from which rises the arm 4, having pivoted thereto at 5 the latch 6. The transverse or rock shaft 3 is normally under the influence of a spring, not shown, but of usual construction, for maintaining,the parts in the position indicated in Fig. l.. That is` the spring acts to turn the rock shaft contra-clockwise but yields to permit rocking movement of the rock shaft in the opposite direction.

The latch 6 has an end portion 7 which is adapted to be engaged by the actuator 8 when the end of the latch is moved into operative relation with the operating member. The operating member 8 may be the weft hammer or cam follower, or a part connected thereto. Pivotally mounted at 9 upon the lug 10 rising from the loom frame, is the transmitter 11, the end 12 whereof underlies the latch 6. The transmitter 11 has connected thereto the end portion 13 in which is movable the controller 14, in the present instance shown as an arm pivotally mounted at 15 and normally under the influence of a spring 1G tending to move the end of the controller 14 rearwardly in the slot 13 of the transmitter. These parts are all of usual and well-known construction and operate in a well-known manner to effect replenishment of filling when the controller 14 is moved frontwardly upon indication of substantial exhaustion of filling, the transmitter 11,v at such time, being tilted by the controller 14 as it passes over the inclined end, or cam 16, of the end portion 13 of the transmitter.

Adj ustably mounted on the loom frame is a feeler stand 17 which may be secured adjustably to the frame by means of a bolt 18 passing through the slot 19 of the loom frame or part secured thereto and engaging the bracket 2O on which the feeler stand is adjustably secured by means of the screws 21.

As hereinbefore noted, the feeler member may be variously contrived, but in the present instance of the invention it comprises a slide 22, the frontwardly extending portion 23 of which is guided in the feeler stand 17 for movement toward and from the front of the loom. A spring 24 normally acts to hold the feeler member 22 in its rearward feeling position, but yields under the frontward pressure upon the feeler, to permit the latier to move frontwardly.

Pivotally mounted at 25 upon the feeler member is the actuator 26, the end portion 27 of which is normally held raised by a spring actuated pin 28, but is adapted to be depressed to engage the controller 14 when the filling is substantially exhausted, as is well understood with this class of j feeler mechanisms. The actuator 26 has connected thereto the abutment 29 which, when the filling is substantially exhausted in the shuttle, is adapted to engage the wall of the shuttle, or a part carried by the lay, to depress the end 27 of the actuator into position for engagement with the controller 14 as the lay moves frontwardly.

The lay is provided with the usual shuttle box 30 which is adapted to receive the shuttle 31, and the front wall 32 of the shuttle box and the wall 33 of the shuttle are slotted, as usual, to permit entrance of the feeler member into the shuttle to feel for the lling on each detecting beat. All of the parts hereinbefore described may be of any usual or desired character whereby when the filling is substantially exhausted, replenishment may be effected without stopping the loom.

The feeler member 22 has secured to and projecting from its rear end portion, the

bristles 34 which constitute the tip or the end engaging portion of the feeler member. The bristles 34 are pre-ferably secured in a groove 35 formed in the rear face portion of the end of the feeler member 22. The bristles may be secured in place in the groove in the rear end surface of the feeler member by an adhesive, such as glue or the like, or any other appropriate securing means may be employed.

lhen the lay makes its detecting beat the bristles 34 engage the surface within the shuttle which, when a working supply of lling is present, is formed by the filling itself, and when filling is substantially exhausted, such surface may be constituted by the filling carrier or bobbin. 1n either case, however, the yielding action o f the bristles prevents injury either tor the filling or the filling carrier.

To insure noninjurious effect upon the iilling during the constantly recurring impact of the filling against the feeler tip, the bristles 34 are preferably arranged at an inoline to the longitudinal axis of the shuttle,

Vas indicated in Figs. 1 and 2, so that when the bristles receive upon them the direct impact of the filling, they readily bend or yield frontwardly, as indicated in Fig. 3, and present a substantial cushioning effect, and upon further frontward'movement of the lay, the forward pusli' of the filling against the bristles effects frontward movement of the feeler member. Thus the bristles which form the tip or engaging end of the .feeler member received directly upon them the impact of the surface or filling within the shuttle, and bend or yield to prevent injury thereto, and upon further frontward movement of the lay the bristles act to move the feeler member itself frontwardly. The bristles are preferably extended over the feeler member at a small angle relative to the longitudinal axis of the shuttle, the effect being that while the bristles bend under -the frontward impact and frontward pressure of the filling within the shuttle on a de- Y tecting beat, they readily assume their initial position, as indicated in Fig. 2, when the frontwardzpressure upon the bristles is removed during the backward` movement of the lay.

1t has not been deemed necessary herein to enter into a detailed discussion or explanation of the action of the train of mechanism between the feeler member and replenishing mechanism, because this may be of =any usual type, and that shown andV described herein is well known and understood in the art.

Claim- 1n a feeler mechanism for looms, the combination of a feeler having a tip or rear end engaging portion formed of a series of yielding non-penetrating bristles extending in an inclined direction from the eeler to directly receive the full impact of a surface Within the shuttle on each detecting beat and adapted to be bent thereby and by frontward pressure against the bent bristles cause frontward movement of the eeler, and means for effecting replenishment of illin'g when the filling in the shuttle becomes substantially exhausted.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

PHILIPPE )S BoisvERT.

mark fitness to mark ARTHUR C. SPALDING. 

